Wednesday, July 22, 2009

That's what the Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore dictatorship does all the time. Hoodwink foreigners, particularly Westerners into thinking Singapore is something what it is not. What it is is this. It is a dictatorship, a one party state, with Lee Kuan Yew and his family as the oligarchy in total control; where the press is controlled entirely by them, where the courts abuse the law at will to preserve the Lee family in power, and where every organ of government is firmly in their control. In short, a country where the people live in fear of the Lee Kuan Yew family, completely at their mercy and whose lives are abandoned to their whims.

What it is not is this. It is not a democracy.

Singapore has over the years successfully misled the Western world into thinking it is a democracy. And to a large extent, so far, they have managed it. With a state controlled press in Singapore, who is there to refute the non stop good news that flows from it? Any country that has a state controlled press can very much get away with anything they say. But all this is changing with the Internet. Today it is getting harder and harder for dictatorships and totalitarian regimes around the world to get away with lies. But despite this, despite the fact that the west is now aware of what Singapore, Burma and other small minded dictatorships in the region are, Lee Kuan Yew's son, the boy whom his father placed as the Prime Minister is at it again.

Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of July 23, 2009 has this story, "Striking a Balance, Singapore feeling it's way forward in establishing a system that works best for it, says PM Lee". This is an interview with the well known German newspaper Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung.

The state controlled newspaper's title itself is completely false. With 50 years continuous rule by this man and his father Lee Kuan Yew, when every opposition political candidate over the years has been either bankrupted or imprisoned by them, the system “does work for them”, that is for him, his father and his family. It certainly has not worked for the 4.5 million other ordinary people who live in fear of him lest they say something he does not like.

As we go on with this completely misleading article, every single line of it is false and a lie. In the first sentence he says it is "a system which achieves a balance of quality leadership" and "which gives the people an opportunity to voice their grievances". If it a quality leadership, then why is that almost half the population live below the poverty line in their government owned HDB flats or cubicles, many without even being able to afford 3 meals a day, no electricity or water and many going hungry? Why is there massive unemployment? Why does every Singaporean almost to the man, if they could, leave Singapore for settlement abroad? Why are no children being born and why does 2 out of 3 students who go abroad never return?

And if the people are "given an opportunity to voice their grievances" then why is Dr. Chee Soon Juan repeatedly jailed, bankrupted and impoverished by the corrupt courts for doing just that "voicing his grievance". And why is there no dissent at all from the entire population, because they have all been subdued and silenced from even the slightest criticism, lest they end up like Dr. Chee Soon Juan. Why was I sent to jail for 3 months last year for doing just that in this blog, criticizing? And if people are allowed to criticize, can he or his father explain why they have both between them monopolized the office of Prime Minster in the country and winning every single election since 1959?

In the next line, Lee's son tells the Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung, "It is a system that has worked well and not let the people of Singapore down". Instead of telling Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung, he should tell that to the miserable wretches who live in the 1 and 2 room flats and the millions of others who have lost their jobs and unable to find any other. He should say that to the thousands of young people who are coming out of the schools with no jobs and no prospects. He should tell that to the millions of other Singaporeans whose jobs have been taken away by foreigners. Without the benefit of a minimum wage, he should tell that to the thousands of man and women who earn less that $500 or less. He should tell that to the growing numbers who have made their homes in the void decks of the government owned flats. He should tell that to the man who was so upset he set one of his politicians alight on paint thinner.

The next paragraph is so blatantly false, it seems as if he has no respect whatsoever for the intelligence of Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung. He says, believe it or not, "How do you keep a system which delivers outstanding quality of leadership and government and yet (allow) the people to say, I want this government but not this policy or the other". My dear Lee Kuan Yew's son, you are presuming too much. How can you say you deliver "outstanding quality of leadership" when the truth is, your entire government is literally falling apart, and it will with your father's impending demise. And what makes you think the people want your government but not a particular policy or other? What makes you think that? If you ask me, I think to the last man every Singaporean wants your entire family out. But there is nothing they can do since you will put them in jail if they say so.

Further down it is alleged (we do not know if this is true, keeping in mind this is a state controlled press) that Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung had asked if Singapore will become more democratic? I am not sure whether the German newspaper was being a bit sarcastic or whether they really believed there was any democracy in Singapore. If the German newspaper Frankfurter Zeitung did not know, there is no democracy at all. Protests are disallowed entirely throughout the island except for a small patch of ground no bigger than a football field, where even there plain clothes police will harass and threaten anyone found in it.

Next Lee's son says every country has to devise a system that works for them. Sure, Burma has devised a system that works very well for the military junta and the Lee family in Singapore has similarly devised a system that works very well for them. Not for any other Singaporeans. Then he says, that simply because you are developed does not mean you should have democracy. Wait a minute, dear son. What makes you think only developed countries should have democracy? Should it not be a universal right for everyone, as along as you are a human?

He then puts out another shameless blatant lie that "the opposition had a fair chance to compete and contest in elections"! Tell me son, did the late JB Jeyaretnam get a fair chance? Did Dr. Chee Soon Juan? Did Chia Thye Poh? Did Francis Seow? Did Tang Liang Hong? Come on boy who are you kidding? The Germans are not as stupid as you think.

Then he says the reasons why the people have not organized a revolution and rebellion against him is because the government helps them through training. The truth is there is no re-training at all, and no one who has been re-trained has ever got any job because there are none.

Another reason he says is that employers have been given money towards employees’ salaries. The truth is that money is only given to government linked or government supportive companies and none of that money has ever gone to any worker; it is pocketed by the employers. And thirdly, he says when people have problems they can talk to the government. It is true that unemployed and miserable Singaporeans can form a line outside one of the son's members of parliament and beg for help. They might get a bag of rice and a couple of hundred dollars but this in no way helps any Singaporean who is in a bind.

Unemployment he says has not shot up. If you count those who earn less than $500.00 per month wages, an amount way below the poverty line, almost half the people of Singapore live in poverty, not much different from Communist China or India. Then he says look at the people in the shops shopping as evidence of the people's wealth. This is the lowest of the low, a dastardly and shameful lie. Yes in any country that is jam packed like Singapore with 4.5 million people living one on top of the other; you will see some people in shopping malls. But Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung has to be warned these shoppers are just 5% of the population of the island. The rest 95% live in their cramped government owned flats hardly surviving.

Please Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung, go on a tour of the HDB flats and ask the miserable creatures ensconced in them. Lee's son is just pulling wool over your eyes because he thinks, you, being a foreigner would not know.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Maybe it would be simpler to say that Singapore is a family business. In this case, owned by the Lee clan. Are you familiar about the "Three Generations Curse", well, wait a bit longer till the 3rd Lee takes power. As a good brat, he will not be able to hold into power.

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About Me

Determined to find the Truth.
Born Singapore, educated Winstedt School 2 (next to Monks Hill in Newton, Singapore) Raffles Institution, National Service, some travel in Europe, then law studies England, return to Singapore, practiced for 10 years, active Workers Party member, stood elections 1988 and 1991 in Singapore, was harassed and persecuted by Lee Kuan Yew for my political beliefs, left for USA, obtained asylum and admitted California State Bar, practice law ever since in Fremont California near San Francisco. Relinquished Singapore citizenship 2005 because I was not prepared to permit Lee Kuan Yew to unjustly retain my CPF funds if I remained Singapore Citizen. On principle, the only correct thing for me to do was to give it up, for my CPF funds. I am an American Citizen as of 2004.